The gunman who shot 11 people in a Lafayette movie theater last week wasn't added to a database of people prohibited from buying firearms because he had not been involuntarily committed, Georgia officials said Monday, although John "Rusty" Houser's troubled mental health did send him into hospital care. read more

One of America's most famous country rock musicians excoriated President Obama for how he reacted publicly after what many believe to have been a terrorist attack in Chattanooga, Tenn., that left four Marines dead Thursday -- a mass murder allegedly committed by a lone shooter. read more

Louisiana's Terrebonne Parish passed an ordinance this week to ban saggy pants in public. Their council voted 8-1 to pass the proposition despite divergent opinions in the community. Offenders will be fined $50 for the first offense, $100 for the second offense and $100 plus 16 hours of mandatory community service for the third offense. A judge will determine the punishment for any further violations.

A conservative-authored proposal which would make Texas the fifth state in the U.S. to legalize recreational marijuana use was approved in a bipartisan House panel vote in May -- with the bill's author citing his Christian values as cause for his support. Although the bill was not taken up before the House, Texas anti-drug law advocates called the move as historic. "Marijuana policy reform continues to make unprecedented progress this session," Phillip Martin of the liberal group Progress Texas tweeted after the vote. The bill's author, Tea Party-backed state Rep. David Simpson of Longview, wrote an op-ed last month in which he stated, "As a Christian, I recognize the innate goodness of everything God made and humanity's charge to be stewards of the same. I don't believe that when God made marijuana he made a mistake that government needs to fix." read more